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CNN
4 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Officers who cover their faces could be charged with a misdemeanor under California proposal
Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor charge in California under a new proposal announced Monday. If approved, the bill would require all law enforcement officials to show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the National Guard or other troops and it would exempt SWAT teams and officers responding to natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security called the proposal 'despicable' in a post on X, saying ICE officers are facing a 'more than 400 percent increase in assault.' State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco, and State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat representing Berkeley and Oakland, said the proposal seeks to boost transparency and public trust in law enforcement. It also looks to protect against people trying to impersonate law enforcement, they said. 'We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all and, at times, even wearing army fatigues where we can't tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia,' Wiener said. 'They are grabbing people off our streets and disappearing people, and it's terrifying,' he added. In Los Angeles, a series of immigration raids June 6 by federal officers, some with face coverings, triggered days of turbulent protests across the city and beyond and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troopsand Marines to the LA area. More than 100 people were detained during those raids and immigrant advocates say they have not been able to contact them. The state senators said that in recent months, federal officers have conducted raids while covering their faces, and at times their badges and names, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Concord, Downey and Montebello. 'Law enforcement officers are public servants and people should be able to see their faces, see who they are, know who they are. Otherwise, there is no transparency and no accountability,' Wiener said. Videos of raids showing masked officers using unmarked vehicles and grabbing people off the streets have circulated on social media in recent weeks. DHS defended the officers' wearing of masks in its post on X. Besides an increase in assaults, DHS says people have launched websites to reveal the identifies of ICE officers. 'While ICE officers are being assaulted by rioters, a sanctuary politician is trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers,' the statement says. Ed Obayashi, a special prosecutor in California and an expert on national and state police practices, said the proposed legislation would be tough to enforce because federal officers can't be prosecuted by state courts for activities performed during their official duties. 'If they are following federal directives, they are following federal law,' Obayashi said. He said that when it comes to local and state officers, they are already required by law to have identifiable information and department insignia on their uniforms. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, has defended his officers using facemasks, saying they wear them to protect themselves from death threats and online harassment. 'I'm sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' he said at a news conference earlier this month in Boston to announce nearly 1,500 arrests in the region as part of a monthlong 'surge operation.'
CNN
4 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Officers who cover their faces could be charged with a misdemeanor under California proposal
Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor charge in California under a new proposal announced Monday. If approved, the bill would require all law enforcement officials to show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the National Guard or other troops and it would exempt SWAT teams and officers responding to natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security called the proposal 'despicable' in a post on X, saying ICE officers are facing a 'more than 400 percent increase in assault.' State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco, and State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat representing Berkeley and Oakland, said the proposal seeks to boost transparency and public trust in law enforcement. It also looks to protect against people trying to impersonate law enforcement, they said. 'We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all and, at times, even wearing army fatigues where we can't tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia,' Wiener said. 'They are grabbing people off our streets and disappearing people, and it's terrifying,' he added. In Los Angeles, a series of immigration raids June 6 by federal officers, some with face coverings, triggered days of turbulent protests across the city and beyond and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troopsand Marines to the LA area. More than 100 people were detained during those raids and immigrant advocates say they have not been able to contact them. The state senators said that in recent months, federal officers have conducted raids while covering their faces, and at times their badges and names, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Concord, Downey and Montebello. 'Law enforcement officers are public servants and people should be able to see their faces, see who they are, know who they are. Otherwise, there is no transparency and no accountability,' Wiener said. Videos of raids showing masked officers using unmarked vehicles and grabbing people off the streets have circulated on social media in recent weeks. DHS defended the officers' wearing of masks in its post on X. Besides an increase in assaults, DHS says people have launched websites to reveal the identifies of ICE officers. 'While ICE officers are being assaulted by rioters, a sanctuary politician is trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers,' the statement says. Ed Obayashi, a special prosecutor in California and an expert on national and state police practices, said the proposed legislation would be tough to enforce because federal officers can't be prosecuted by state courts for activities performed during their official duties. 'If they are following federal directives, they are following federal law,' Obayashi said. He said that when it comes to local and state officers, they are already required by law to have identifiable information and department insignia on their uniforms. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, has defended his officers using facemasks, saying they wear them to protect themselves from death threats and online harassment. 'I'm sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' he said at a news conference earlier this month in Boston to announce nearly 1,500 arrests in the region as part of a monthlong 'surge operation.'
CBS News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
California "No Secret Police Act" introduced, would ban police from covering their faces
Two California lawmakers introduced a measure Monday that seeks to ban law enforcement at all levels of government from covering their faces during operations including immigration enforcement. The legislation would also require officers "to be identifiable via their uniform, whether with name or other identifier," according to Democratic Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguin of Berkeley, who introduced Senate Bill 627, also known as the "No Secret Police Act." The bill would prohibit local, state and federal law enforcement officers, or any person acting on behalf of a law enforcement agency from covering their faces. The measure includes exceptions for SWAT teams, medical-grade masks such as surgical or N95 masks, and masks designed to protect against smoke during a wildfire-related state of emergency. Wiener said the legislation was prompted by the Trump administration's recent immigration crackdown and reports of federal agents wearing masks and allegedly not identifying themselves during operations. "People are afraid, families are being torn apart," the senator said at a news conference in San Francisco on Monday. "And it's important that anyone who is engaged in law enforcement activity whether state, county or whether its federal that there's full transparency in terms of what happening." The lawmakers said they believed the measure would improve public trust in law enforcement. "This law is rooted in two principles. One, to protect the safety of California's communities. And two, to ensure that there is transparency and accountability for law enforcement," Arreguin said. In an interview with Margaret Brennan of "Face the Nation" on June 8, Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem has defended law enforcement covering their faces. "It's for the safety of those individuals or the work that they're doing as far as protecting their identity so they can continue to do investigative work," Noem said.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
California bill proposes misdemeanor for officers who cover their face on duty
Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor in California under a new proposal announced Monday. The bill would require all law enforcement officials show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the national guard or other troops and it exempts Swat teams and officers responding to natural disasters. Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator representing San Francisco, and Jesse Arreguin, a Democratic state senator representing Berkeley and Oakland, said the proposal seeks to boost transparency and public trust in law enforcement. 'We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all and, at times, even wearing army fatigues where we can't tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia,' Wiener said. 'They are grabbing people off our streets and disappearing people, and it's terrifying,' he added. The state senators said that in recent months, federal officers have conducted raids while covering their faces, and at times their badges and names, at churches, restaurants, hardware stores and schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Concord, Downey and Montebello. 'Law enforcement officers are public servants and people should be able to see their faces, see who they are, know who they are. Otherwise, there is no transparency and no accountability,' Wiener said. Some videos of raids showing masked officers using unmarked vehicles and grabbing people off the streets have circulated on social media in recent weeks. On Wednesday, a group of masked and armed men detained a Latino man in a church parking lot in Downey, a small, largely Latino suburb near Los Angeles. The senior pastor of the church, Rev Tanya Lopez, described the incident and said the men did not identify what agency they worked for and refused to provide their names or badge numbers when asked. Lopez attempted to speak to the man, who only spoke Spanish, but one of the men turned a rifle on her. 'Who knows if this man is a citizen? They were not letting him answer any questions or provide any identification,' Lopez later told reporters. 'They surrounded him and started to just get ready to grab him. And that's why I could not just stand idly by.'
Japan Today
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Officers who cover their faces could be charged with a misdemeanor under California proposal
State Senators Anthony Wiener, D-San Francisco, left, and Jesse Arreguin, D-Berkeley, announce a proposed bill that would prohibit law enforcement from covering their faces while working in the state, Monday, June 16, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Haven Daley) By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor charge in California under a new proposal announced Monday. The bill would require all law enforcement officials show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the National Guard or other troops and it exempts SWAT teams and officers responding to natural disasters. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco, and State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat representing Berkeley and Oakland, said the proposal seeks to boost transparency and public trust in law enforcement. It also looks to protect against people trying to impersonate law enforcement, they said. 'We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all and, at times, even wearing army fatigues where we can't tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia,' Wiener said. 'They are grabbing people off our streets and disappearing people, and it's terrifying,' he added. In Los Angeles, a series of immigration raids June 6 by federal officers, some with face coverings, triggered days of turbulent protests across the city and beyond and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the LA area. More than 100 people were detained during those raids and immigrant advocates say they have not been able to contact them. The state senators said that in recent months, federal officers have conducted raids while covering their faces, and at times their badges and names, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Concord, Downey and Montebello. 'Law enforcement officers are public servants and people should be able to see their faces, see who they are, know who they are. Otherwise, there is no transparency and no accountability,' Wiener said. Videos of raids showing masked officers using unmarked vehicles and grabbing people off the streets have circulated on social media in recent weeks. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, has defended his officers using facemasks, saying they wear them to protect themselves from death threats and online harassment. 'I'm sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' he said at a news conference earlier this month in Boston to announce nearly 1,500 arrests in the region as part of a monthlong 'surge operation.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
